Chapter 113: Waiting for the Future

Wen Gu was discussing the Sheng family, and within the Sheng family merchant caravan temporarily resting in the Outer City District, there were also people mentioning Wen Gu.

The caravan valued information; it concerned their interests and their very lives. With the world now in an unusual state, they would only have a stronger drive to collect news from all sides.

Inside the room, the middle-aged man sitting in the primary seat was the leader of this trip—Sheng Ren, the second-in-command of the Sheng family merchant caravan.

His appearance did not seem shrewd; on the contrary, he possessed a certain honesty, and his manners were steady and reliable. If it were someone who did not understand him, they would easily be deceived by such an honest and loyal face.

At this moment, this second master of the Sheng caravan had a solemn expression.

Under the current pressure of survival, the Six Great Powers of Beidi were developing extremely rapidly, and every time they met, they looked different. Their Sheng family caravan operated once every half year, and he could not rest easy leaving it to the juniors or the stewards under him; Sheng Ren had to personally go to various places to see the situation, which helped them judge the situation and current events more accurately.

The two great powers, Dong and Zhao, were close by, so their caravan's first stop was Xinzhou.

"This person Wen Gu... from last autumn to this spring, in such a short time, he has become the most famous figure in Xinzhou City and is deeply trusted. He is not simple!"

When the caravan came to Xinzhou City, their information collection target certainly would not omit Wen Gu.

Sheng Ren analyzed some brief news that had just arrived and assigned tasks to the junior stewards and several trusted aides.

After the others left, Sheng Ren closed his eyes to ponder, recalling what he had seen along the way and the summary of the news he had just received.

After the autumn and winter seasons, the defensive works of Xinzhou had clearly expanded again.

The increase in defensive facilities and the strengthening of defensive capabilities also gave those who fled to this place more sense of security.

Besides this, several great maritime clans in the south had actually chosen Xinzhou; this was not a decision that could be made in a short time, it must be that the Zhao Family had laid out their plans early.

"The situation in Beidi still awaits observation..."

The quarantine observation ended, and the Sheng family's team was ready early in the morning, bringing cart after cart of goods into the city.

There was very little grain and cargo for sale in here. After the chaotic world began, every time they ran their business, their greatest profit did not rely on grain trading.

The powerful and wealthy families had stored grain in their hands and would not buy it from grain merchants at high prices for the time being. As for the common people, most could not afford the high cost of purchasing grain, so grain trading was actually limited.

Most of the goods in these carts of the caravan were transported under commission, items that needed to be delivered to various families.

There was also no need to worry about these goods being looted by local forces in Xinzhou.

The status of a large grain merchant could obtain many conveniences among the Six Great Clans of Beidi; although they had defected to the Dong Clan, they could also receive good treatment in the city-states occupied by the other five clans.

No one knew how many trump cards a large grain merchant like the Sheng family might be hiding; if one were to use force, perhaps it would only result in nothing, or even lead to greater retaliation.

Therefore, in the short term, the attitude of these great powers toward the Sheng family remained relatively mild. If they were truly short of grain, they would also conduct direct transactions.

As they got closer and closer to the gate of the Neicheng, to prevent the people of the caravan from being negligent, Sheng Ren emphasized to the steward again:

"Xinzhou City has restarted the ward market system, and the ward gates are opened and closed at fixed times; the timing must be arranged well!"

Sheng Ren was not sitting in the carriage; he was observing the surroundings.

Those military wards in the Outer City District were all surrounded by ward walls, so one could not see the situation inside, and there was nothing to look at. Soon, his attention was attracted by a farmer's ox cart in front.

Driving the cart was a young farmhand; there was no carriage body on the cart, and it was dragging goods covered with cloth, so it was unclear what they were.

There was also an old farmer sitting on the cart, chattering away. His voice was not loud, but Sheng Ren vaguely heard a few keywords, and it seemed he mentioned "Jingxing Fang".

The stewards and trusted aides beside him did not need Sheng Ren to remind them; while it did not show on their faces, they diverted some of their attention to that old farmer.

Soon, the ox cart reached the gate of the Neicheng. Unlike many villagers who were timid when seeing the city guards, the two people on the ox cart appeared exceptionally calm.

The old farmer on the cart had quite nimble legs; he jumped off the cart, took out a piece of paper, and handed it to the city guard: "Goods for Jingxing Fang."

The guard checked it quickly, did not privately detain the goods at all, and even chatted with the old farmer in a quite friendly manner.

A cart pulling goods into the city certainly had to pay an entry fee; it had already been collected at the Outer City gate, but generally, people pulling goods would also tactfully give a little when entering the Neicheng.

Nowadays, the value of copper coins fluctuated greatly, and usually, goods were used to offset it, but the old man driving the cart did not move goods from the cart; instead, he handed over several small pieces of paper, and a smile of "having made a big profit" appeared on the face of the city guard.

Sheng Ren's eyes flickered.

Money Voucher?

It didn't look like it; it was too small, and the printing was too simple.

Aside from these, then that would be... the Grain Ticket of Jingxing Fang mentioned in the news?

Those who ran caravans were sensitive to ticket-type items and understood even better the significance they represented. Seeing the attitude of the city guard, Sheng Ren's regard for Jingxing Fang increased by a few points in his heart.

Entering the Neicheng, before he could look at anything else, his eyes were first dazzled by that flamboyant, shimmering Treasure Bridge.

Even though he had seen many rare treasures, he was still shocked by the strange sight over there.

"It seems there are really many wealthy families in this Xinzhou City!"

One could feel the noble aura emanating from over there from far away!

Sheng Ren only looked over there from a distance and did not go over immediately; he had his own itinerary. He collected his thoughts and sorted out the plan for this trip.

After entering the city, for the first two days, he would visit various families to deliver the New Year gifts, letters, and other items brought on this trip, while also maintaining his network of relationships.

The Butie had been sent out in advance, and the approximate times for each family had already been agreed upon.

The first place to go was, of course, the Zhao Fu; he did not expect to see the Head of the Family, but if he were lucky enough to see Zhao Shaozhu, this trip would not have been in vain.

For these two days, the junior stewards and trusted aides would first go to inquire and collect news.

They had a foothold in Xinzhou City, and after settling down, one of the junior stewards took his task and headed toward the location of Jingxing Fang and Qingyun Fang.

There was no need to ask; where the Treasure Bridge was, the Jingqing Two Wards were there!

However, compared to the more boisterous Jingxing Fang, this junior steward was more curious about Qingyun Fang.

Jingxing Fang, to put it bluntly, would just be a place of entertainment in the future; the Wanfu Garden that the Shen family took the lead in building—one could guess what kind of place it was just by thinking about it.

That Wen Gu of Jingxing Fang, Ward Chief Wen, although they also valued him, but, heroes emerge in troubled times, and nowadays, young talents were emerging in all major powers. These junior stewards followed their masters to various places and had also personally seen several brave and handsome talents, so they were not that curious about Wen Gu.

As for the Danguan in Qingyun Fang, and that person mentioned in the news who was treated specially by the Zhao Family as an exception—Qingyi Daozhang—it made one want to explore the truth even more.

When the Zhao Family first took Xinzhou, they killed quite a few monks and Daoists! Those who knew the inside story understood that those killed were all people who deluded the public and spread heretical ideas, but it did indeed show that the Zhao Family was truly merciless toward monks and Daoists, and there was once a rumor that the Zhao Family detested monks and Daoists.

Now, however, there was a Danguan being built in Xinzhou City, and the scale was not small.

The Sheng family steward's eyes carried a bit of caution: "That Qingyi Daozhang must have profound immortal arts and be unfathomable!"

Qingyun Fang.

In the courtyard where Qingyi Daozhang currently resided, inside the room.

Slap!

A stack of paper covered in writing was slammed heavily onto the desk; because of the excessive force, some sheets drifted to the floor.

A sound of breaking composure echoed in the room.

"I'm done!"

"Whoever wants to do this, let them do it!"

"Damn it all!"

"Is there really no one else in all of Xinzhou who can refine these? Why are you only hounding me?!"

"This is bullying!"

"You dog!"

Shaking off those lists filled with writing, Qingyi Daozhang's expression was gloomy.

He recited scriptures silently, regulating his breath to calm his heart.

Then, he stood up.

With a cold face, he picked up those scattered papers one by one.

Who could have imagined it!

Before coming to Xinzhou, he was full of ambition and truly hoped to be valued, but this was too heavy!

The tasks were truly one after another, layer upon layer.

Not to mention the distant ones, just recently: improve the printing ink? A small problem, not difficult.

Just after solving that, that Gou Shusheng sent over another stack of task lists.

It made it so he didn't even have free time to discuss Daoist Technique and philosophy with the benefactors and believers!

Originally, he didn't want to accept them, but... this... *cough*... the reward was quite generous.

He couldn't help but accept them.

He couldn't help it!

Qingyi Daozhang felt that he truly had it very hard.

The Danguan not only had to be built, it had to be renovated too!

Between ordinary renovation and luxury renovation, the ambitious him naturally chose the latter!

The cost was immense!

At the same time, refining Dharma Artifacts and various items also required many rare materials; among them, a few could not be bought just with money and grain, and some were even used up a little bit at a time. They were only available in the Zhao Family storehouse, and they were willing to take them out as rewards.

Looking at those listed on the task list, how could he resist?!

Qingyi Daozhang kept a straight face and continued to overcome the difficult tasks on the list.

He recited silently in his heart for the umpteenth time: Just wait! Once my Danguan is built...

Before long, a young Daoist acolyte came to report:

"Master, there is someone from an outside merchant caravan who says the head of the family is surnamed Sheng. They want to buy our Danguan's Warding Evil Talismans and Exorcism incense for the caravan to use on their journey."

Qingyi Daozhang sneered.

Don't look at him staying here all day; his information was well-informed, and he had also received news of the Sheng Family Merchant Caravan's arrival.

For such a large merchant caravan, it was impossible to say they didn't have enough supplies on hand; coming to the Danguan was at most just to test the waters.

Perhaps they were curious why a Danguan had suddenly appeared in Xinzhou City and wanted to know if there were truly Daoist Priests here, or if it was just a front put up by the Zhao Family?

Roughly guessing the other party's purpose, Qingyi Daozhang gave a cold snort.

Regardless of whether they were testing or not, he wasn't afraid at all!

He was full of confidence!

He had real, tangible contributions!

This territory, this Danguan, and this treatment were all earned through hard work, one sheet of paper at a time!

The Sheng Family was actually quite forthright. If the people from the caravan had been secretive, he wouldn't even have been willing to sell to them!

Since the other party was so forthright, there was no need to worry about anything.

"If they want to buy, let them buy. The old rules!"

Don't sell it too low, and don't sell too much!

Such small matters could be left directly to his Apprentices to handle; the person who came was only a minor steward, so there was no need for him, the Master, to show his face personally. Although he had no fame, he had to maintain his status well; he couldn't let people look down on him!

Qingyi Daozhang temporarily cast this matter aside.

The Sheng Family Merchant Caravan was indeed a potential big client, but it was a pity the timing wasn't right. The other party's heart wasn't sincere either.

Wait until I become famous throughout the world in the future...